JPH0351933B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a composite chain link assembly for power transmission. Conventionally, power transmission chains have been constructed of sets or rows of links stacked on top of each other, with adjacent sets or rows of links being connected by pivot devices of various cross-sectional shapes. Some pivots have been made up of multiple members, while others have been made up of a single pin. The links of such a chain are all the same links, i.e. 1 separated by a crotch.
The link had a pair of fingers, the fingers being formed by an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surfaces being connected to form a crotch. Such chains were designed to engage sprocket teeth in driving relation to the inner or outer surfaces of the links. In the conventional chain, the external surface engagement type is used for industrial power transmission type chains.
The internally engaged type was used in automotive timing or motion transmission type chains. One of the important factors in modern automotive applications is the problem of noise caused by the impact of the chain on engagement with the sprocket. Attempts to reduce the noise level have included modifying the sprocket by changing the number of teeth in the sprocket's overall shape, killing the roots of the sprocket teeth, and killing the sides of the sprocket teeth. It was carried out in various ways. Examples of such efforts include U.S. Patent No. 16, April 16, 1968, assigned to General Motors Corporation.
No. 3377875, US Pat. No. 3377875, issued February 17, 1970.
No. 3,495,468 and US Pat. No. 4,168,634, issued September 25, 1979. The present invention described herein is suitable for use in automobiles as well as other uses, and aims to provide structures for various power transmission chains that operate at a satisfactory level of noise when used in automobiles. do. A chain according to the invention consists of sets or rows of links superimposed on each other, each link having a pair of fingers formed by an inner surface and an outer surface connected to form a crotch. It has come to have a This chain assembly uses two types of links, an outer surface engagement type link and an inner surface engagement type link, and these links can be arranged in an arbitrary arrangement or in a regular arrangement to form a chain link in its natural state. The frequency of engagement of the chain and sprocket teeth is broken or varied, thereby reducing the amount of noise generated by the chain and sprocket drive. The chain according to the invention can be constructed as follows. (1) Inside and outside engaging type links are arranged in alternating rows or pitches. (2) Alternatively, the inner surface engaging type links and the outer surface engaging type links may be arbitrarily combined in various proportions. (3) Alternatively, internally engaging type links and externally engaging type links may be arranged in arbitrary configurations in rows or pitches of varying proportions. (4) Or, within each row or pitch of links, internal and external engagement type links are arranged alternately. Various combinations of links as described above are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention. Modes for carrying out the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing specific examples of the invention. FIG. 1 shows a sprocket-chain drive combination including a sprocket 12 having a number of equally spaced teeth 16 and a chain 14. Teeth 16 can be flanked if necessary or desired as shown in the General Motors Corporation patent mentioned above. The chain 14 is comprised of sets or rows 18 of links 20, 22, with adjacent sets of links connected by pivots shown as round pins 24 in the drawings. Other types of pins can be used if desired. Link 20 is of the inner surface engagement type and link 22 is of the outer surface engagement type. Guide links 26 are used to maintain the chain in lateral alignment on the sprocket. Although the actual construction of such a drive system includes a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket connected in driving relationship by a chain, only one sprocket is shown for simplicity. Attention is directed to Figures 2 and 3, which illustrate the shape of the links. FIG. 2 shows a link 22 of the lateral surface engaging type, which has a lateral surface 34.
and 36 and a pair of spaced apart fingers 30 and 32 formed by inner surfaces 38 and 40, the inner surfaces 38 and 40 forming a crotch 42 at their junction. . The outer surfaces 34 and 36 are generally straight for most of their length. FIG. 3 shows an inner side engagement type link 20,
This link has outer surfaces 48 and 50 and an inner surface 52.
and 54, respectively. The connecting portion between the inner surfaces 52 and 54 is the crotch portion 56.
is formed. Also, the inner surfaces 52 and 54 are slightly curved while the outer surfaces 48 and 50 are generally straight. The aforementioned links each have a pair of spaced apertures 58 adapted to receive pins 24. Link 2 on a straight line passing through the center of the openings 58, 58
The zero length is approximately several thousandths of an inch less than the corresponding length of link 22, thereby ensuring that link 20 does not engage laterally. However, the center distance of the apertures 58, 58 is the same for both links. One method of arranging the links is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The chains each include a set 60 of inner surface engaging links 20 and a set 62 of outer surface engaging links 22.
adjacent pairs are connected by a pivot device 24, shown as a round pin. An alternative arrangement of the links is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 in which each set 63 of links in the chain is arranged in alternating medial engagement links 20 and exterior engagement links 22. Thus constructed, adjacent sets of links are connected by pivot devices 24, also shown as round pins. A third method of arranging links is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this case, the link set 64 is composed of the inner surface engaging links 20, and the link set 65 is composed of the outer surface engaging links 22, and these link sets 64 and 65 are arranged in an arbitrary arrangement order. , adjacent sets of links are connected by a pivot device 24, shown in the form of a round pin. Still other ways of arranging links are shown in Figure 10 and Figure 1.
1, in which each link set 66 is comprised of an inner surface engaging link 20 and an outer surface engaging link 22 combined in an arbitrary arrangement, with adjacent link sets 66 They are connected by a pivot device 24, shown as a round pin. Still other methods of arranging links are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the number of one type of link, such as in FIGS. 10 and 11, may be used in excess of the other type of link, or may be the same. In the automobile industry, automobiles are classified into performance indexes from 1 to 10, such as noise, harshness, shade, etc.
The typical classification is shown in the attached table.

[Table] This classification system is self-explanatory;
Usually performed by a trained observer. A chain as shown in Figures 4 and 5 is
Tested on GM X-body cars in place of OEM power transmission chain without changing OEM sprockets. The OEM chain was of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,656 to Jeffrey dated March 8, 1977. Both chains had the same pitch and width and were substantially the same length. The noise level was graded as approximately 6-1/2 for each chain. A round pin connected chain constructed with only internal side engaging links was also tested in conjunction with the same sprocket and the noise level was graded from approximately ⁴⁺ to 6. The chains of the present invention are cheaper to manufacture than OEM chains and have sufficient strength against noise. The noise of the chains of the invention tested was lower and better than the conventional chains also tested.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing one method of arranging the links of a chain according to the present invention in combination with a sprocket. FIG. 2 is a side view of an outer surface engagement type chain link. FIG. 3 is a side view of an inner surface engagement type chain link. FIG. 4 is a partial side view of a chain consisting of alternating sets of inner and outer engaging links; FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a side view of a chain in which each set of links includes alternate combinations of inner surface engagement links and outer surface engagement links. FIG. 7 is a top view of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a side view of a chain in which a set of inner surface engaging links and a set of outer surface engaging links are combined in an arbitrary arrangement order. Figure 9 is the 8th
Top view of the figure. FIG. 10 is a side view of a chain in which a set of links, in which inner surface engaging links and outer surface engaging links are arbitrarily combined, is assembled in an arbitrary arrangement order. FIG. 11 is a top view of FIG. 10. 12...Sprocket, 14...Chain, 1
6...teeth, 18...row or set of links, 20,2
2... Link, 24... Pin, 26... Guide link, 30, 32, 44, 46... Finger portion, 34,
36, 48, 50...outer surface, 38, 40, 5
2, 54... Inner surface, 42, 56... Crotch, 58
...Aperture, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
...a set of links.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A combination of a power transmission chain and a sprocket, wherein the chain comprises a plurality of sets of links superimposed on each other, means for connecting adjacent sets of links, and Each link has a pair of fingers separated by a crotch, each finger defined by an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surfaces of each link are connected at the crotch, and each link has a pair of fingers separated by a crotch. an aperture for receiving a pivot, one set of links comprising links having an inner surface having a first shape, and another set of links comprising links having an inner surface having a different shape; The inner surface of the first shape and the inner surface of the different shape are configured to generate power that changes the contact pattern between some of the links and the teeth of the sprocket during power transmission between the chain and the sprocket. Combination of transmission chain and sprocket. 2. A power transmission chain and sprocket combination according to claim 1, wherein certain sets of said links include links having substantially straight interior surfaces. 3. A power transmission chain and sprocket combination according to claim 1, wherein certain sets of links include links having substantially straight inner and outer surfaces. 4. Claim 1, wherein the chain is arbitrarily arranged and comprises links having substantially straight inner and outer surfaces over a majority of its length, and links having differently shaped inner surfaces. A combination of the power transmission chain and sprocket described in .